Vassar Brothers Medical Center / School of Nursing – History
Vassar Brothers Medical Center was founded on June 6th, 1882 by Matthew Vassar Jr. and John Guy Vassar. The hospital was the brainchild of Matthew Jr. a well-known philanthropist to the City of Poughkeepsie. Matthew decided that after his passing, some of his fortune should be used in the establishment of a hospital. In his will, Matthew states that the hospital should be called “Vassar Hospital”, however, he also mentions that if his younger brother, John Guy Vassar, wanted to join the project, “Vassar Hospital” should be changed to “Vassar Brothers Hospital.” Upon Matthew Jr.’s death in 1881, John Guy donated a significant amount of money to the hospital, and as a result, the hospital was formally changed to “Vassar Brothers Hospital.” Irene Beech Vassar, Matthew Jr.’s widow, also joined the project when she found the perfect location for the hospital; a seventeen-acre property that overlooked the Hudson River. On April 11th, 1887 Vassar Brothers Hospital opened its doors, admitting its first patient on April 27th.
Over the years, Vassar Brothers Hospital would add more buildings to its site, ultimately destroying the original hospital. The buildings that did remain from the original hospital were torn down in 1971. As a result, the oldest part of the hospital that remains today dates back to 1924. Overall, the mission of the Library/archives is to preserve Vassar’s rich history, particularly the School of Nursing.
In 1890, Vassar Brother’s Hospital awarded two nursing certificates to Amy McCreary and Anna Moore; and in 1905 Vassar Brothers Hospital (VBH) School of Nursing received New York State accreditation. Nursing students were provided room and board, bedside training, classroom instruction, and monthly stipends. The amount of the stipends increased, throughout the three-year program. In addition, upon completion of the program, nurses were given the opportunity to stay at Vassar Hospital, as ward nurses. Unfortunately, the school would close in 1972, and move to Dutchess Community College. In this time, 1,400 nurses would graduate from VBH School of Nursing. Although the school has closed, the history would live on through the Vassar Brothers Medical Center archives, and the Alumni’s donations of yearbooks, uniforms, and their experiences. This history is preserved in the archives, located in the library.
Vassar Brothers Hospital’s rich history is digitized and presented to the public through a website. For example, the donated yearbooks (or any historical photo from VBH) are organized and, then go through the digitization process and uploaded to the “Hudson River Valley Heritage” website. This is a digital library that contains historical materials open to the public. It includes materials from the following counties: Columbia, Greene, Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, and Westchester. Prior to uploading the documents, a brief description of the photograph or document is included with publisher information, the date of the photo, and other detailed information about the photograph or document. Overall, through this process, Vassar Brothers Medical Center is able to preserve and circulate the rich history of their institution.